pics of the festae

these are the breeding pair and fry that i got mine from, i47.photobucket.com/albums/f165/chrismaher1505/DSC_2276.jpg

quality
they're stunning fish !!!

what a colours how many of fry usually survive?

Normaly if well looked after, all fry survive. You might cul some that have any deformities.

Awesome fish you have there mate .

Jay

Hey Sean congrats can you already separate the fries at that size?

Can't wait to see yours when they get big Sean.
How long before they show any color?

thanks for the replys,im getting alot of pm,s about these fish,these fish are true monsters,please do some research on these,there not for first timers,you will need a lot of space for these,so make sure you know what you are getting into,afaik you can take fry away at any stage,these sa cichlids dont get any colour up to 3 inchs,the females are red,you cannot sex these fish until the pass 4 inchs,they are slow growers so it takes time,even when you have a pair even for years the male sometimes just goes mad and kills the female,some breeders go through up to 10 females just to breed,so it can be hartbreaking,but when you get a pair well matched up they are stunning,

Well you have done very well mate, I tip my hat to ya...if I had a hat.

Jay

Stunning fish you have there,i have a freind who has a pair of wild festae who keep onlaying but the eggs are always unfertilised but the guy who had them first had fy so sold them on for £130 for the pair which for such lovely fish is very good as you will always sell the offspring and that it was the female out of the two that was the aggressor.

The female is the one with the stunning colours

,

Very impressive. Almost looks like a marine fish.

Jay

are they your friends,nice but the male can be stunning to

Yes they are one of my freinds that comes over for some fish talk but i dont think he has researched the proper water params hence the white eggs and by the way what are your water params for the festae.

your right about the female beating the crap out of the male,but that is only when they are breeding,the problum is when the male wants to breed and the female is not ready he will kill the female,dont forget the male can get up to 500mm+,the female will grow to around 300mm,my water parameters are all fine,im keeping very low nitrates because this helps growth,i do a 50 percent wc every week and 2o litres every day to clean the waste,my ph is 7.2 to 7.4

got this from another site,its not to far off, basic stuff, Scientific Name : Cichlasoma festae, Amphilophus festae, Herichthys festae, Heros festae, Nandopsis festae

Common Name : Festae, Guaya's Cichlid, Harlequin Cichlid, Red Terror

Country Of Origin : Ecuador and Columbia

Size : 40cm, 16 inch

Diet : Being a predatorial Central American Cichlid; Festae appreciate meaty foods occasionally supplemented with spirulina. Live/frozen food is also recommended.

Tank Zone : All Zones, but will primarily stick to the middle-lower area.

Sex : It is virtually impossible to tell until the specimens are 10-13cm, 3.5-4 inches. At this point, the front portion of the dorsal fin and the pelvic fins of females will turn black and they will most likely lose any blue spangling they may have previously had. Males will keep the blue spangling throughout the body and the finnage, and their entire dorsal and pelvic fins will remain red.

Temperament : Red Terrors are well known to be a highly aggressive fish and have been observed to be intolerant of tankmates even in 800 Litre, 200+ gallon tanks.

Breeding : It is best to purchase several juveniles and let them grow up and pair off on their own. Once a pair is formed, all other fish will need to be removed from the tank. Red Terrors will not fully mature until well over a year old until the male is approximately 7-8" and the female approximately 5-6". Once mature and ready to spawn, the pair will select a spawning location and clean a flat surface. Once the eggs are laid and have been fertilized, the female will stay very close to the nest while the male guards a much larger territory. One thing to note is that male Red Terrors may become very aggressive towards the female and if proper precautions aren't taken the female may be killed. It is best to have some sort of tank divider on hand in case of severe aggression.

Tank Setup : Cavework is a must to indicate territotial boundaries or else Festaes will claim a tank soley for themselves.

Temperature : 24-28°C,76-82°F

PH : 7.0-7.8

Hardness : 5-15° dGH


Optimal Water Parameters :

Temperature: 26°C (79°F)
pH: 7.4
Hardness: 10°dH